Visual indicator for fire-alarm and other purposes



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. G. CRANE & R W. COLE. VISUAL INDICATOR FOR FIRE ALARM AND OTHERPURPOSES.

No. 452,165. Patented May 12,1891.

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M. G. CRANE 8: P. W. COLE. VISUAL INDICATOR FOR FIRE ALARM AND OTHERPURPOSES.

No. 452,165. Patented May 12,1891.

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(No Model.) 4 sheets-sheet 3. M. G. CRANE 81; P. W. COLE. VISUALINDICATOR FOR FIRE ALARM AND OTHER PURPOSES.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4;

M. G. CRANE & F; W. COLE. VISUAL INDICATOR FOR FIRE ALARM AND OTHERPURPOSES.

No. 452,165. Patented May 12, 1891.

\JIIL/ M ags UNIT D STATES PATENT MOSES G. CRANE AND FREDERICK V. COLE,OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS VISUAL INDICATOR FOR FIRE-ALARM AND OTHERPURPOSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 452,165, dated May 12,1891.

Application filed March '7, 1890. Serial 110342.963. (N0 model.)

To all whom it 11mg concern:

Be it known thatwe, MOSES G. CRANE and FREDERICK W. COLE, both ofNewton, county of MiddleseX, Stateof Massachusetts, haveinvented anImprovement in Visual Indicators for Fire-Alarm and other Purposes, ofwhich the following description, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representinglike parts.

This invention has for its object to improve the construction ofelectric indicators for fire-alarm and other purposes.

In electric systems for sounding alarms for fire and other purposes bynumbered strokes of bells or gongs it is desirable that the operativesof the police or fire department on duty at the various stations mayascertain the alarm given at the earliest moment and independent of thesound of the bell or gong. To accomplish this end various devices havebeen patented to register or record the number of the alarm sounded insuch a manner as to place the number of the alarm in plain view andsight of the operatives without care on their part. Such devices haveemployed two or more wheels placed side by side, with the numbers from 1to 9 on their peripheries, in combination with mechanism actuated by thealarm mechanism to rotate the wheels step by step independently untilthe desired con1- bination of numbers has been brought into line beforean opening in the case of the apparatus. With all such apparatus,however, the wheels must be of comparatively small diameter in order tobe operated by the delicate mechanism, and the numbers on theperipheries of the wheels must be correspondingly reduced in size, thusmaking the reading of the numbers indicating the alarm difficult unlessthe operatives be very near the same. In accordance with this inventionit is desired that the figures shall be made as large as possible, andhence they are arranged on bands or tapes attached at the ends to thewheels or drums or other movable frames, which are moved intermittinglyand independently either directly or indirectly. The figures whendisplayed are on the substantially plane surface of the tapesintermediate the wheels or movable frames, thus making it possible todisplay very large figures without making the frames of greater diameterthan the figured wheels now in use. Springs or equivalents may beemployed to move the wheels or drums when released, or said wheels maybe positively moved. Let-offs or equivalents are employed to release ormove the said wheels or drums, one let-01f for each wheel or drum. Anoperating-bar is employed to move the said let-off, the posit-ion ofwhich is governed by a stepped p late, and said operating-bar is itselfmoved by an electro magnet. The stepped plate is moved in one directionby a time-train or motor mechanism; but its connection therewith is suchthat it may be moved in the opposite direction orrestored to its normalposition independently of the movement of the said train. Means areprovided for winding the motor mechanism or time-train, and also forrestoring the parts to their normal position.

Figure 1 represents in plan view an electric indicator embodying thisinvent-ion, the upper and lower portion thereof being removed; Fig. 2, aright-hand side elevation of the-electric indicator as shown inFig. 1;Fig. 3, a left-hand side view of the indicator shown in Fig. 1; Fig. at,a side view of the mechanism for moving the figured band or tape, thesame being the upper portion removed from Fig. 1; Fig. 5, a detail to bereferred to, and Figs. 6 and 7 modifications to be referred to. Figs. 8,9, and 10 are details to be re ferred to.

The main frame-work A is of suitable construction to support theoperatingparts. The wheels or drums a, preferably three in number, arearranged loosely on a rod or shaft mounted in the posts or standards a.\Vheels or drums I), also preferably three in number, are arranged on arod or shaft mounted in postsor standards b, said wheels I) beingarranged directly above and in parallelism with the wheels a. Bands ortapes are supported on the wheels, there being three bands or tapes, asc c 0 employed. Figures are painted, embossed, or otherwise placed 011the tapes or bands 0 c c ;-but in the drawings onl one band as c isshown as numbered.

Said tapes or bands and the mechanism for moving them independently areinclosed by a case (F, having at one portion openings, as at of, toexpose a portion of the substantially plane surface of said tapes orhands, so that one figure alone of each tape or band maybe exposed at atime.

Springs are employed for moving the wheels, and consequentlythe hands ortapes, one spring being provided for each band or tape, and is hereshown as arranged in con nection wit-h the wheels by one end of eachspring being attached to the hub of each wheel and the other-end toposts or standards on the main frame-work, so that as the said wheelsare turned in one direction the springs are wound up, which, whenreleased, will move the wheels I) in the opposite direction. The windingmechanism is herein shown as connected to the wheels a, although it isobvious that it may be connected with the wheels I), and, while aparticular construction is shown and will now be described, we do notdesire to limitour invention to such construction.

011 or secured to the hub of each wheel a is apinion (L3, and on a shaft(I, mounted in posts or uprights (l' on the main frame, arelooselyarranged three sectors 0;, which mesh with the pinions a On theshaft (Z are rigidly secured several arms a, one of which is arrangedbeside each sector a" and one a" at the end of the shaft. Each arm a hasa pin a, which, when the shaft is rotated, strikes the upper side of aprojection a formed on each sector (0, raising the sector, and therebyrotating the wheels to in one direction. The arm a is fixed to theshaft, which is connected by a link orconnecting-rod a with awinding-arm (r pivoted at a, movement of the winding-arm on its pivot inthe direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, turning the shaft to raise thesectors and rotate the drums a, while a spiral spring a, one end ofwhich is connected with the winding-arm and the other end to theframe-work, serves to restore the winding-arm to its normal position,and thereby return the shaft to its normal position. The pin a on an arma of the post (1 serves as a stop-pin for the arm a" to limit thebackward movement of the shaft. It will be seen that as the drums a arerotated by the winding mechanism shown and described the wheels I) aresimultaneously rotated in connection with the wheels to by the tapes orbands 0 0 0 thereby winding the springs on the wheels I), which inrecoiling rotate the wheels I), and consequently the wheels a, in theopposite direction. Studs 2 are formed on the rims of the wheels 61.,or, of course, it may be on the rims of the wheels Z), with whichco-operate independent let-offs for each wheel or drum, said let-offseach comprising two arms, one of which, as e 6 e co-operates with thestuds 2, and the other of which c c e are located adjacent to each otherto be acted upon by a suitable operating bar or lever. This constructionof the let-off is substantially the same as shown and described in anapplication, Serial No. 342,950, filed concurrently with this by Mr. F.\V. Cole; also, there will be found in said application many of theparts herein employed.

An operating-barf (see Figs. 1, 2, and 8) is pivoted at 3 to a frame f,which is in turn pivoted at 4 to the armature-carrying lever fsupporting the armature f of an electromagnetf This bar f is movedtoward and from one or another arm 6", c, or c of the let-offs to movethem, and is guided in a block f secured to a plate f, pivoted at f tothe frame-work. The plate f serves as the directing-plate to positionthe bar f, de termining with which arm c" or e or w" it shall act.

A stepped plate 1' is secured to a collar t", held frietionally on ashaft 11 A stud t on the plate f bears against the stepped portion ofthe said plate 11 firmly by means of a flat spring t", the outeror freeend of which bears against a projection IF on the plate f. A toothedwheel a is secured to the shaft or arbor "11 which meshes with a piniona (see dotted lines, Fig. 1) on a shaft or arbor 91 An escape-wheel a issecured to said shaft or arbor 12. with which cooperates a suitablepallet a A pinion m is arranged loosely on the shaft or arbor 2?, whichhas secured to it a ratchet-wheel m, (see Figs. 3 and 9,) whichco-operates with a pawl carried by the toothed wheel at. A toothedsector of, pivoted at a engages the said pinion m, and said sector hastwo arms or projections in m. A stud in is arranged on the\vinding-arn'l a, which as the arm is turned on its pivot to wind thewheels at strikes the arm or projection m and turns the sector at in thedirection of the arrow thereon, thereby rotating the pinion m andratchet-wheel in a direction to permit the pawl to slip loosely over theteeth of the ratchet. A spiral spring 'in is connected at one end to themain frame and at the other end to the sector in, the tendency of whichis to move the sector in the direction opposite to the arrow thereon,thereby rotating the pinion m in the opposite direction that theratchet-wheel may engage the pawl and drive the train. The arm m servesto limit the movement of the sector in. in one direction by striking thepost m" of the frame-work.

A lever m is pivoted at m to the frame, one end of which cooperates witha detent an on the shaft which carries the pallet a, and the other endof which has a projection m (shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 10,) which isstruck by the platef when the latter is turned on its pivot in thedirection opposite to that of the arrow thereon. This lever m is held onits stud by friction, so that it remains in whatever position it may beplaced. The outer end of the lever m terminates just in front or abovethe armature carrying lever f (see Figs. 1 and 3,) so that asthelatteris retracted it moves the lever on on its pivot in onedirection to disengage the detent m and release the train, said trainwhen once released ICC running down until the arm of of the sector mengages the post m or the lcvorm is restored to its normal position.

his the intention to operate the barfsuccessively to move the arm a, andthen after a short period of rest to move the arm c successively, andthen after aperiod of rest to move the arm successively, and thereafterby means of the winder the barf and all the co-operating parts may berestored to their normal position. To effect this movement between thesuccessive impulses the stepped plate 2 is moved back to its normalposition at each time the armature is attracted or retracted and ismoved forward by the continuously-revolving shaft t whenever the motormechanism is released. To effect this result a plate 0 is secured to thecollar t", which carries the stepped plate 2', said plate 0 having onits under side three studs 5 6 7, beveled in opposite directions, asbest shown in Fig. 1, and an arm 0 is secured to the armature-carryinglever, which has at its outer end a vertical stud 8, beveled in oppositedirections, as shown, said stud 8 co-operating with one or another stud5 6 7. On the occurrence of thefirst impulse the armature is retracted,moving the arm m and thereby releasing the ti me-train and setting theshaft 1' revolving, thereby moving the stepped plate 1. on it as a pivotin direction of arrow. As the armature is retracted the stud S strikesthe beveled face of the stud 5 and moves the plate 0 in the direction ofthe arrow thereon, thereby restoring the plate '6 to its normalposition. As the armature is attracted the stud S strikes the oppositebeveled face of the stud 5 and again moves the stepped plate 2' back toits normal position. This operation is repeated while the impulsessucceed each other with rapidity; but as soonas there is a cessation orinterval of time of long duration between a succession of, impulses theplate 6 is moved until the next step thereof co-operates with the stud ion the plate f, thereby permitting the plate f to swing on its pivot inthe direction of the arrow thereon and direct the operating-bar f to thenext arm a. On the occurrence of the second series of impulses the stud8 co-operates with the stud 6 'in substantially the same manner as itco-operated with the stud 5, previously described, thereby maintainingthe operating-bar f in front of or below the arm c and so on.

A plate to (see Figs. 2 and 5) is mounted on a stud 10, having an arm orprojection 20 which is acted upon by a pin 10 secured to the winding-arma when the latter is moved in the direction of the arrow thereon to windthe train. The plate to is acted upon by a spiral spring 10 (see dottedlines, Fig. 5, and full lines, Fig. 2) to turn it in the oppositedirection. When the winding-arm 03 is moved to wind the train and theindicating devices, the plate '20 is turned from the dotted to thefull-line position, Fig. 5, throwing the said in this position by thefriction of the armai ture f bearing against it. As soon as the armatureis pulled up by the attraction of the electro-magnet the spring 20'throws the plate to back into the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 5.

Many of the parts herein shown and described are applicable to theindicator shown and described in the application above referred to, andso also many of the parts shown in that application may be applied tothe indicator herein shown; also other well-known substitutes andequivalents may be employed without departing from the spirit and scopeof this invention.

Referring to Fig. 6, the plate f has the stepped portion i formed on itdirectly, said plate guiding the operating-bar f, and the operating-baris connected to a plate a, pivoted at a and normally held against a pin1&2 by a spring a The plate a has a projection a, which is engaged by anarm a, attached to the armature-carrying lever f of the electromagnet f(Not shown.) The plate f is pivoted at 7.6 frictionally to a rotatingshaft of the time-train. A projection 16 is formed on the plate it,which, as the said plate is turned on its pivot it, strikes one oranother step of the plate 2', moving the plate f back at each successiveimpulse, unless the impulse is followed by a period of rest ofsufficient duration to permit the time-train to bring the next step intoposition to be struck by the projection u-" Referring to Fig. 7, theplate f guides the barf, connected to the armature-carrying 1ever, andsaid plate f 6 carries a stud i which co-operates with a stepped plate1', arranged on a shaft The plate 2' has a stepped or toothed portion 0,with which co-operates a bar 0 also connected to the armature-carryinglever, so that as the armature is moved back and forth the arm 0 willstrike one or another tooth of the stepped portion 0.

In both Figs. 0 and 7 the same results as heretofore set forth may beeasily and efficiently carried out.

We claim 1. In an electricindicator, the combination of the followinginstrumen ta-lities: two sets of movable frames arranged in parallelism,a series of tapes having characters thereon connected to said movableframes, actuatingsprings connected to each frame of one set, let-offsco-operating with each frame of the other set, whereby said frames maybe moved intermittingly and independently and different combinations ofcharacters presented on the substantially plane surface of the severaltapes between theframes, avibratingand laterally-movable operating-leverfor said let-' offs, and an electro-magnet controlling its vibratorymovement and a motor mechanismcontrollingitslateralmovement,substantially as described.

2. In an electric int'licatonthe combination of the followinginstrnmentalities; twosets of movable frames arranged in parallelism,aseries of tapes having characters thereon connected to said movableframe, actuatingsprings connected with each frame of one set, let-offsfor the frames, whereby they may be moved by the actuating-springsintermittingly and independently to present different combinations ofcharacters on the substantially plane surface of the several tapesbetween the frames, restoring devices connected with the other set ofmovable frames, a vibratory and laterally-movable operatinglever forsaid let-offs, and an electro-magnet controlling its vibratory movementand a motor mechanism controlling its lateral movement, substantially asdescribed.

In an electric indicator, a series ct parallel tapes, charactersthereon, and let-offs for said tapes, combined with an electro-magnet,its armature, an operating-bar for the let-offs actuated longitudinallyby the armature, and a stepped plate frietionally connected with atime-train and controlling the transverse vibrations of saidoperating-bar, substantially as described.

t. In an electric indicator, a series of parallel tapes and let-offs forthem, an electromagnet, its armature, and an operating-bar pivoted tosaid armature and moved toward and from the letoffs by theelectro-magnet, combined with a carrier, a guide thereon through whichsaid operating-bar is moved, means for moving the carrier, and a steppedplate controlling the position of said carrier and continuously incontact therewith, substantially as described.

5. In an electric indicator, a series of tapes, let-offs therefor, anelcctro-inagnet, its armature, and an operating-bar pivoted to saidarmature and moved toward and from the letotfs by the eleetro-magnet,combined with a carrier, a guide thereon for said operatingbar, astepped plate to control the position of the carrier, frictionallyconnected to and moved in one direction by a timetrain, and means tokeep the carrier continuously in contact with said stepped plate,substantially as described. 1

t'. In an electric indicator, a series of tapes, let-offs therefor, anelectro-magnet, its armature, and an operating-bar for the let-offs,longitudinal movement of which is controlled by the armature, combinedwith a carrier, a stepped plate for determining the position of thecarrier and frictionally connected to and moved in one direction by atime-train, a series of beveled studs on a portion of said plate, an armcarried by the armature to cooperate with said studs to move the platebackward or opposite to the direction given it by the time-train, andmeans to keep the carrier in contact with said plate, as and for thepurposes described.

7. In an electric indicator, winding mechanism, combined with anelectro-magnet, its armature, and an armature-rcstoring plate, a springto retain said plate out of contact with the armature, and a projectionon said plate in the path of movement of a mcmberof the Windingmechanism, the winding thereof moving said plate against its spring intocontact with the armature to move the same near the poles of the magnet,the armature and the plate remaining in contact until the armature ismoved by the magnet, substantially as described.

8. In an electric indicator, a series of figu red tapes supported onmovable frames and let-offs therefor, combined with an operatingbar forthe let-offs, its carrier, a stepped plate in contact with the carrier,a part of said plate having thereon a series of studs beveled inopposite directions, the plate being frietionally connected to and movedin one direction by the motor, a detent for said motor, aneleetro-magnet, its armature and arm secured thereto, having a stud 8 tocontact with one or another of said studs on the stepped plate, theoperating-bar and armature, contact of the studs moving the steppedplate back against the action of the motor, and a lever intermediate thedetent and armature, retraction of the armature releasing the motor,substantially as described.

9. In an electric indicator, a series of indicating-drums and let-offstherefor, whereby they may be moved intermittingly and independently,combined with an operating-lever for said let-offs, a stepped plate forholding said operating-lever in its different positions, anelectro-magnet and its armature controlling the longitudinal movement ofsaid operating-lever, a time-train controlling the lateral movement ofsaid operating-lever, and means for setting the stepped plate back,which is disengaged from said stepped plate at each limit of motion ofthe armature, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MOSES G. CRANE. FREDERICK W. COLE. Witnesses:

BERNIQE J. Novas, EMMA J. BENNETT,

